Antioxidant components of selected indigenous edible mushrooms of the obsolete order Aphyllophorales

Potential Beneficial Effects and Pharmacological Properties of Ergosterol, a Common Bioactive Compound in Edible Mushrooms

Ergosterol is an important sterol commonly found in edible mushrooms, and it has important nutritional value and pharmacological activity. Ergosterol is a provitamin. It has been well established that edible mushrooms are an excellent food source of vitamin D2 because ergosterol is a precursor that is converted to vitamin D2 under ultraviolet radiation. The pharmacological effects of ergosterol, which include antimicrobial, antioxidant, antimicrobial, anticancer, antidiabetic, anti-neurodegenerative, and other activities, have also been reported. This review aims to provide an overview of the available evidence regarding the pharmacological effects of ergosterol and its underlying mechanisms of action. Their potential benefits and applications are also discussed.

Medicinal, nutritional, and nutraceutical potential of Sparassis crispa s. lat.: a review

Sparassis crispa is an edible mushroom exhibiting a wide range of medicinal properties. It is recognized for therapeutic value because of the high β-glucan content in the basidiomes. The broad range of its reported curative effects include anti-tumour, anti-cancer, immune-enhancing, hematopoietic, anti-angiogenic, anti-inflammatory, anti-diabetic, wound-healing, antioxidant, anti-coagulant, and anti-hypertensive properties. However, most of the studies are conducted on immunomodulatory and anticancer activities. Besides this, it also exhibits anti-microbial properties due to the presence of sparassol. Technology is now available for the cultivation of S. crispa on coniferous sawdust. This review is an attempt to focus on its distribution, taxonomy, chemical composition, medicinal properties, potential applications, and artificial cultivation.

Contribution of Bioactive Compounds to the Antioxidant Capacity of the Edible Mushroom Neolentinus lepideus

Neolentinus lepideus is a fungus consumed by rural communities in Central America and Asia due to its rich flavor; however, little information on its chemical composition is available. With this in mind, the objective of this work was to determine the content of vitamin E and C, ergosterol, and phenolic compounds of this fungus, as well as its antioxidant capacity. The quantified bioactive compounds were two isoforms of vitamin E, highlighting α-tocopherol (3370.35 mg/100 g dry weight, DW) and ergosterol (11.70 mg/100 g DW). The total phenolic content was 164.80 mg gallic acid equivalents/100 g, and nine phenolic compounds were identified (protocatechuic, p-hydroxybenzoic, caffeic, vanillic, ferulic, salicylic, p-anisic, trans-cinnamic acids, and scopoletin). The highest antioxidant capacity was detected in the lipophilic extract with TEAC (27688 μmoles Trolox equivalents/100 g). These results suggest that lipophilic compounds are among the main bioactive compounds in N. lepideus, and they might exhibit the highest radical scavenging properties in non-polar extracts.

Antioxidant Properties and Industrial Uses of Edible Polyporales

The content of antioxidant compounds varies within fungal species, and the Polyporales order has been recognized for this property. Numerous antioxidant compounds have been identified in Polyporales fungi, including phenolic compounds, β-glucans, ergosterol, ergothioneine, vitamin C, and tocopherols. Each compound contributes differently to the antioxidant potential of fungi. Besides the health benefits for rural communities caused by fungi consumption, their antioxidant composition attracts the food, cosmetic, and pharmaceutical industries’ interest. In this context, the present review compiles, analyzes, and discusses the bioactive composition of edible fungi of the Polyporales order and its contribution to total antioxidant capacity.

Analysis of the biodegradation of synthetic testosterone and 17α-ethynylestradiol using the edible mushroom Lentinula edodes

The mycelium of Lentinula edodes produces enzymes which may degrade xenobiotics including steroid hormones. The aim of the study was to determine whether the mycelium from in vitro cultures of L. edodes are able to degrade endocrine disruptors such as testosterone and 17α-ethynylestradiol. To prove the possibility of xenobiotics degradation, cultures of L. edodes were cultivated in an Oddoux liquid medium with the addition of synthetic 17α-ethynylestradiol and synthetic testosterone. The endocrine disruptors were extracted from the mycelium and determined qualitatively by RP-HPLC. The degradation products of testosterone and 17α-ethynylestradiol were identified using a UPLC/MS/MS analysis. Undegraded testosterone was determined at the amount of 2.97 mg/g dry weight but only in one of the L. edodes extracts from in vitro cultures supplemented with 50 mg of this compound. In turn, 17α-ethynylestradiol was not determined in any samples. Additionally in all extracts, mushroom sterols (ergosterol peroxide and ergosterol) were determined. Their total amounts were significantly lower in samples containing the abovementioned steroids than in extracts from mycelium L. edodes without the addition of steroid hormones. The results demonstrated that the mycelium of L. edodes can be used in the biodegradation process of a water environment contaminated with endocrine disruptors.

Effects of Sparassis crispa in Medical Therapeutics: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials

In this study, we investigated the therapeutic potential and medical applications of Sparassis crispa (S. crispa) by conducting a systematic review of the existing literature and performing a meta-analysis. The original efficacy treatment of the mushroom extract is considered primarily and searched in electronic databases. A total of 623 articles were assessed, 33 randomized controlled experiments were included after the manual screening, and some papers, review articles, or editorials that did not contain data were excluded. A comparative standard means difference (SMD) and a funnel plot between control and S. crispa groups were used as parameters to demonstrate the beneficial effects of S. crispa for diabetes and cancer treatment, as well as anti-inflammatory, anti-fungal and antioxidant activities. The meta-analysis was carried out using Review Manager 5.1 software. Although for therapeutic diabetes there was heterogeneity in the subgroup analysis (I² = 91.9%), the overall results showed statistically significant SMDs in major symptoms that decreased serum insulin levels (SMD = 1.92, 95% CI (1.10, 2.75), I² = 0%), wound rates (SMD = 3.55 (2.56, 4.54), I² = 40%) and contributions to an increase in nutrient intake content (SMD = 0.32 (−0.15, 0.78), I² = 0%). Simultaneously, the study confirmed the utility of S. crispa treatment in terms of not only anti-cancer activity (reduction of tumor activity and survival of cancer cells I² = 42 and 34%, respectively) but also anti-inflammatory, anti-fungal and antioxidant activities (I² = 50, 44, and 10%, respectively). Our findings suggest that S. crispa extracts are useful for prevention and treatment of human diseases and might be the best candidates for future medicines.

Reactive oxygen species and antioxidant properties from mushrooms

Preventive medicine and food industry have shown an increased interest in the development of natural antioxidants, since those most commonly used synthetic antioxidants may have restricted use in food. This could explain why there is currently much research on the antioxidant properties from natural products such as mushrooms. Many mushrooms have been reported to possess antioxidant properties, which enable them to neutralize free radicals. The oxygen molecule is a free radical, which lead to the generation of the reactive oxygen species and can damage the cells. Cell damage caused by free radicals appears to be a major contributor to aging and degenerative diseases. Mushrooms antioxidant components are found in fruit bodies, mycelium and culture both, which include polysaccharides, tocopherols, phenolics, carotenoids, ergosterol and ascorbic acid among others. Fruit bodies or mycelium can be manipulated to produce active compounds in a relatively short period of time, which represent a significant advantage in antioxidant compounds extraction from mushrooms. Antioxidant compounds may be extracted to be used as functional additives or mushrooms can be incorporated into our food regime, representing an alternative source of food to prevent damage caused by oxidation in the human body.